This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Most biomedical research is conducted in environments that are not easily accessible to undergraduate students, i.e., large medical centers or research universities, national laboratories, and pharmaceutical companies. This is especially true in Arkansas, where the sole academic medical center, UAMS, is not on the same campus as the major undergraduate populations. Accordingly, there is a critical need to expose undergraduate students in Arkansas to state-of-the-art biomedical research. The Outreach Core will provide this access through a variety of mechanisms, primarily the Undergraduate Faculty Mentoring/Summer Research Program and the Summer Student Research Fellowship Program. The INBRE Faculty Mentoring Program is designed to help facilitate the collaboration of undergraduate faculty at non-partner UGIs in the state with experienced faculty mentors at one of the lead institutions. Likewise the Summer Student Mentored Research Fellowship Program is conducted under the auspices of the three lead institutions. Each summer, 15 students are given the opportunity to engage in an intensive, state-of-the-art research experience in the laboratory of an established, experienced researcher at one of the lead institutions. In addition to an intense research experience in their mentor's laboratory, participants attend Arkansas INBRE-sponsored workshops during the summer. All students will be required to prepare a poster for Research Day and to write a research paper that will be collated into a single publication for distribution to participants and their mentors. Both faculty and students participate in Research Day at the end of the 10-week program to share their experiences. Lastly, the Outreach Core organizes an annual conference to enable Arkansas INBRE project leaders, mentors, and students, as well as INBRE-sponsored summer fellows, to meet and present their research. This Research Symposium presents an opportunity for networking among researchers within the Arkansas INBRE.